


Always

by raspberrymocha



Series: Raspberry does Ignoct Week [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Canon Disabled Character, End Game Spoilers, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Older IgNoct, Unhappy Ending, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 01:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20056117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberrymocha/pseuds/raspberrymocha
Summary: Ignis and Noctis have a long overdue conversation the night before they return to Insomnia.Written for Ignoct Week Day 3 - They talk about Ignis putting on the ring.





	Always

“We need to talk.” Those four little words always mean trouble, especially coming from Noctis.

They’re in Hammerhead still, standing in a pool of dim light trying valiantly to beat back the darkness. That’s how Ignis pictures it, anyway. He can definitely feel warmth on his face, at least.

It’s still hard to believe that Noct is really here, standing only a few feet away from him. Within arm’s reach, but soon to be lost forever. He tries to picture it, his king standing in the ruins of their world, but finds that it just doesn’t belong. Noctis belongs in the sunlight, in a world without care where he can fish and play games to his heart’s content.

This new Noctis is foreign to him – the one with a beard, wearing royal raiments, complete with a cape. He’s seen it once before, in a vision he’d rather forget, but the details are hazy. Even his recollection of the Noctis he knew has started to fade with time. Tears of frustration well up in his eyes as he tries desperately to retrace the details of his prince’s face in his mind. He’s just glad for the visor concealing them from Noctis.

“About what, Your Majesty?” He asks, and the formality of it all leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He hopes, though, that it will make things easier. Create a distance between them – greater than the one created by time – and perhaps he will not feel the loss so sharply.

Noctis huffs, and it’s so like him that it stabs at Ignis’s chest. “Don’t give me that ‘majesty’ crap. What am I really king of, anyway?” His voice turns soft, and Ignis imagines that he must be looking out, over the wasteland that was once their beautiful kingdom. “Anyway, stop trying to distract me. We need to talk about this.”

Noct’s fingers brush up against his face, the first bit of contact they’ve had since his return. The touch is the same familiar one he used to know, callouses and all. He has to resist the urge to lean into it. Noct’s thumb brushes against the scar around his eye, and Igns’s stomach plummets as realization sets in.

“What about it?” He says, because Noctis couldn’t possibly _know_. “If you’re concerned about me, I’ve told you that I’m managing just fine. I am more than capable of assisting you in tomorrow’s battle.”

“That’s not it.” He thinks Noctis might be shaking his head. “I know you can handle yourself. It’s just… When I was in the crystal, I saw all sorts of things. Things that have happened, or have yet to happen. And I saw memories, from everyone that has ever worn the ring. Imagine my surprise when I saw you in there.” By the end of it all, his voice is cracking.

Ignis’s blood runs cold, and not just from the lack of natural heat. “Noct, I… I did what I had to do.”

“No, you didn’t! You didn’t have to do that.” Noctis grasps suddenly for his hand, the one with a scar around one of the fingers. “It was reckless, and it was stupid. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

He is, but Noctis has a habit of making him dumb. His first, most foolish mistake was ever falling in love with the man in the first place. His second was not telling him while he had the chance.

“I’d already lost so much.” Noctis continues, rubbing at the mark the ring left on his skin. Something wet falls on their joined hands. “Dad, Luna… I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you, too.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve always got your back.” That’s not entirely true, but neither of them say so.

“That’s the problem, you idiot. You’ve always taken such good care of me, but now…” He sniffles. “Now, I need you to take care of yourself. Because I… I…” He doesn’t say it. Perhaps he realizes that Ignis already knows what he means. “Promise me, Ignis. Promise me you won’t do anything so reckless ever again. That you’ll live a long and happy life.”

Ignis doesn’t point out that he’s done just fine on his own these last ten years, because he knows that’s not what Noctis wants to hear. Instead, with their hands still joined, he kneels in front of his king. “I swear it on my honor.”

Noctis laughs. It’s a harsh, bitter sound. “You always had a flair for the dramatic.”

Ignis shrugs, letting the comment roll off of him. He knows it’s said from a place of genuine affection. “By the way,” he says as he pulls himself back to his feet. “You said you saw my memories, correct?”

“…Yeah.”

“How much… did you see, exactly” Even if it was only when he was wearing the ring, it would still be too much, but he has to know.

Noctis is quiet for a long moment, perhaps realizing what he means. “A lot more than just Altissia.” He admits finally.

“Ah.” Ignis says quietly, pulling his hand away. That one syllable hangs heavily between them, letting on more than he meant to say. “I apologize for anything… unsavory you might have seen.”

“Ignis, it’s not-“ He cuts himself off with a sigh. “Don’t you think it’s time we finally stopped dancing around this?”

So he had noticed, but from since when, Ignis can’t say. The last ten years have been nothing short of a waking nightmare. Yet, this right here is every single one of his worst nightmares come to life.

“Would it make any difference?”

“It makes a difference to me. Because I… I don’t want to die without telling you that I love you.”

Ignis’s breath hitches, and he swears his heart stops beating. “You… what?”

“I love you,” Noct says it almost desperately, like he can’t stop himself now that the words have left his mouth. “And I never said anything because I was stupid. I took it for granted that you would just always _be_ there, but you won’t and I… just keep thinking that I wasted so much time. Because we could have been together, and I don’t know. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked out, but at least we could have _tried_.”

“It’s alright.” Ignis says softly. He reaches out, fumbling for Noctis shoulders. He hesitates only a moment before daring to wrap his arms around them, pulling him in close. Even through the layers of their clothes, Noct’s heat sleeps into his body, warming him to the very core. “I was stupid, too. I thought… well, I’m sure you know what I thought. That it wasn’t worth jeopardizing our friendship for. That I would always be by your side, and you were engaged, anyway.”

Noctis nods against his chest. “We’re both idiots, then. But I think we can still make up for lost time, at least a little bit.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, you could start by kissing me.”

It’s funny, Ignis thinks. The first time he’d ever thought that he wanted to kiss Noct, it had been very much like this – the two of them standing under a darkened sky. Only then the stars had been out, and Noct’s skin has been illuminated in the moonlight, rendering him an ethereal sort of beauty. His teenage mind could never have concocted a scenario like this, but that’s alright. Because this, at least, is real. If only for a moment.


End file.
